Why Hewlett-Packard Is Leading the Dow Higher

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up slightly following some positive economic reports. As of 1:20 p.m. EST, the Dow is up 0.27% to 14,114, while the S&P 500 is up 0.44% to 1,523.

There were two U.S. economic releases today.

Report

Period

Result

Previous

Weekly jobless claims

Feb. 16 to Feb. 23

344,000

366,000

GDP revision

Q4

0.1%

(0.1%)

Source: MarketWatch U.S. Economic Calendar.

First up, the Department of Labor reported that weekly new unemployment claims fell by 22,000 to 344,000. That's far better than analyst expectations of 362,000. The less volatile four-week moving average fell 6,750 to 355,000. New unemployment claims can be affected by numerous factors, so economists generally follow the four-week moving average.

Next, the Department of Commerce came out with its revised fourth-quarter GDP numbers. GDP growth was revised to 0.1% growth, while the initial report showed a 0.1% decline. That's still below analyst expectations of 0.5% growth and is the lowest growth in nearly four years. Q4 GDP was supported by consumers who increased their spending by 2% in the fourth quarter, but big drops in defense spending and inventory spending slowed the economy.

These are just a few of the many steps Meg Whitman is taking to turn around the struggling PC manufacturer. The question is: Does this make HP one of the least-appreciated turnaround stories on the market, or is this a minor detour on its road to irrelevance? The Motley Fool's technology analyst details exactly what investors need to know about HP in our new premium research report. Just click here now to get your copy today.